Caribbean neighbors concerned about tourism and democracy

Big newspapers in Trinidad and in Jamaica ran stories today on Caribbean neighbor Cuba.

The Jamaica Observer posted a story as a follow-up to last week’s conference on Caribbean Studies in Kingston and its presentation on “US-Cuba Relations: A Roundtable Discussion with Washington Think Tanks.” During the session, this piece reports, Daniel Erikson of the Inter-American Dialogue and Sarah Stephens of the Center for Democracy in the Americas both agreed that the U.S. ban on travel to Cuba would likely be entirely lifted this year. In response, the article admits that Jamaica views this prospect “with fortune and fear.” The “fear” is of displacement of tourists, but the “fortune” side of the coin seems to dominate current opinion: experts and leaders in Jamaican tourism foresee expanded opportunity in increased arrivals to Cuba (through dual destination strategies and greater investment possibilities).

The Trinidad and Tobago Express tackled a different topic. In a quick editorial responding to last week’s developments with respect to Cuba’s OAS suspension, the paper called on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM—which includes many of the nations of the Caribbean) to recognize an obligation to nudge Cuba in a democratic direction. “Either that,” the piece reads, “or our leaders would remain culpable of not doing everything in their power to lift the chains with which the Cuban people have been bound for nigh on 50 years.”